Things That Change by blue

Mothers and Daughters

Chapter 3 ( Mothers and Daughters )

Disclaimer: You should know this by now.

 

Time: This story is occurring in the winter of 2041.

 

Warnings: This is not an AU.  It is a post Galaxia fanfiction about what I now call The One Hundred Year Sleep.  This might very well turn into a series under the name I've used to dub the period of time this, and later stories, occur within.  I'm treating this time of "sleep" to metaphorically describe a time period where the Senshi are trying to get themselves together (in this story, only one person is even close to being labeled as in a sleeping status, maybe).  The reality of it is that Rome was not built within a day (and that was not even close to being labeled as a Utopia).  The period may not even be exactly one hundred years; it too is used as a metaphor for this time period.

 

Summary: Kumada Akina has just lost her Father, Kumada Yuuichiro, to disease and age.  However, on his death bed he requested to not be buried with his prestigious ancestors but to have his ashes placed at a Tokyo shrine.  From there on out, a trip to Tokyo for the family from Kobe will force Akina to face a few flaws in her character and discover a city of ghosts.  There, through the memory of others, Akina will learn the bonds of friendship and family, one that she had forsaken long ago in her silent anger at a father she loved and hated above all others.

 

Things That Change

by Blue Jeans

“There are a lot of things one

learns of only by living life. 

And I grew from the regrets of

those unknowns…”

 

Chapter 3

Mothers and Daughters

 

            "Ow!"  The blonde rubbed her head with a wince.  "Rei Chan, who had the bright idea of putting so many boxes all into one room?"

            Hino Rei turned with an amused grin on her face.  "Mina Chan, it's called a storage room for a reason."

            Minako made a face.  "It's such a hassle, Rei Chan!  Do we have to clean it?"

            "You're the one who volunteered to help," Rei answered without a sign of pity as she opened another brown-box of miscellaneous items.

            "Only because Mako Chan said she was going to cook up a storm!"  Minako brightened at the thought before her expression turned sour at the sight of the untouched boxes before her.  The blonde's stomach decided then to grumble in agreement to her earlier statement.

            Rei twitched a bit at this admission.  "I think she volunteered so she wouldn't have to help clean," the miko grumbled to herself.

            "Eh?"  Minako asked cheerfully.

            "Nothing, baka!" Rei snorted and went back to sorting.

            "Everyone!"  Blue eyes peeked from beneath a pink-hoodie and white jacket as a form bobbed up the stairs.  "I'm here!"

            Rei and Minako both peered out at Tsukino Usagi who had happily declared her arrival while Mizuno Ami followed not too far behind, puffing up the stairs as she trailed after the energetic blonde.  "Sorry for being so late, everyone!"  Ami sighed as she tried to catch her breath, "But cram school went overtime today."  Ami patted down her school uniform before smiling at the exasperated face of Rei and the welcoming grin that Minako wore.

            "Welcome!"  Minako waved.

            "Welcome," Hino Rei sighed with far less enthusiasm.  "I think no one really wants to help clean."  The miko rolled her eyes as she went back into the shed.  Minako lingered outside with their friends, finally finding an excuse to run out of the place she'd been unfortunate enough to be stuck in for most of the day already.

            "Rei Chan's not coming out a little too?"  Ami asked sheepishly.

            Minako set her hands on her hips.  "That place is a nightmare!  I don't know what gave her the idea that even with everyone's help she could clean that old junk-yard up."  Usagi was not paying attention at all to the conversation as she sniffed the air and squealed to herself.

            "What's the matter, Usagi Chan?"  Ami asked cautiously.

            Minako's eyes took on a dangerous sparkle at that moment.  "Kino Makoto's Special Cooking!"  Minako declared as her fist rose.  In that moment, the two blondes shared a look that only they could understand before dashing off towards the back of the shrine where the kitchen was located.

            "Mako Chan!" the two girls squealed after one another.

            "Oh, my," Ami murmured.

            "Mina Chan, when are you going to come back to help me—" Rei stuck her head out to see Ami standing by herself in the courtyard.

            Ami blinked at Rei for a second.  "Mako Chan finished cooking dinner," Ami offered weakly as she began to edge towards the other side of the shrine.  Rei raised a brow at her friend who smiled sheepishly under the scrutiny.  "We better go if we want any leftovers by the way Usagi Chan and Mina Chan ran for it," the blue-haired girl suggested a little desperately.

            Sighing, Rei walked out of the storage room, wiping her hands on a piece of cloth.  "I guess it can't be helped," the dark-haired miko smiled in quiet defeat.

            After lunch, Ami valiantly offered to help Makoto clean the kitchen which left the storage shed up to just Rei, Minako, and Usagi.  "I can't believe there's so much stuff here!"  Usagi blinked as she slid opened the paneled door.  "Creepy," the odango-blonde muttered as she shrunk back a bit to the cool evening outside.

            Rei rolled her eyes.  "For volunteers, you guys sure are reluctant."  The miko walked in without hesitation and turned on the only light bulb in the room.  Without pausing to wait for the others, she began to open another box of old, discarded things.

            "What's in these boxes anyway?"  Minako asked when it got too quiet.

            Rei held a book in her hands and looked up at her friend.  "Well, mostly records," she murmured as she whipped the dust away from the cover.

            "Records for the shrine, huh?"  Usagi asked, peeping out from another corner of the room.  She sneezed at the gathering layer of dust she found when she set down a pretty heavy box to open, herself.  "There must be a lot of records!  Hikawa Jinja's a pretty old place, isn't it?"

            Minako agreed readily.  "Luckily, Rei Chan picked a New Years to clean this place when she could get cheap labor, like us, to help."  Minako sighed dramatically as if both herself and the others were being taken advantage of by Rei.

            "What?  You offered!"  Rei glared at her friend before turning haughtily back to the things in the box next to her.

            "Eh," Minako sighed.  "We're still being taken advantage of," the blonde grumbled.

            "What are you doing for Christmas and New Years, Mina Chan?"  Usagi asked over the boxes in hopes of deterring her friend from angering Rei further.

            Minako glumly replied.  "Family trip to Osaka," the blonde whined.  "Mother has relatives there that she just has to visit."  Minako sniffed haughtily.  "Just because they're a bit well-off, she sucks up to them all the time.  Even though they have airs and don’t treat us with more than what courtesy requires of them.  It's really annoying, but Mother insisted this time I go with her."

            Usagi blinked in surprise.  "You won't be here for Christmas or New Years then?"

            "Just for Christmas," Minako pouted.  "What about you, Usagi Chan?  What are your plans for the holidays?"  Minako inquired as she blew away some dust on top of the new box she had before her and waved her hand over her nose and tried very hard not to sneeze.

            "Oh, Papa's taking us to a hot spring right after Christmas is over as a present to Mama," Usagi said, grinning slyly, "but, Mamo Chan said he has a wonderful surprise for me for New Years!"  The odango-blonde fairly glowed after her happy declaration.  "I think it'll be a wonderful holiday, don't you, Rei Chan?"  Usagi saw her friend more than a bit preoccupied.  "What did you find, Rei Chan?" she inquired with interest.

            Rei was silent for a few moments.  "My mother's album booklet.  I think Grandfather had put it away after her death."  The miko's solemn expression sobered the mood.

            "Hey, is it interesting?"  Minako asked, trying to cheer up the atmosphere.  She waddled over to Rei's side with a box before setting it down heavily.  The sound startled both Usagi and Rei as they ended up glaring at the sheepish Minako.  "Sorry," Minako murmured guiltily.

            "What kind of pictures are there?"  Usagi asked with equal interest once she noticed Rei's great concentration.

            "Pictures of her life," Rei said.  "There's her as a baby, her going to preschool, all the way up to when she was in high school with her friends, and some in her later years too."  Rei traced over one in particular.  "Father…"  Both Usagi and Minako shared a perplexed glance at Rei's soft murmur.  "There are a lot of memories here," Rei sighed.

            "Ah," Minako glanced over Rei's shoulder.  "Who's that beautiful woman in the expansive looking kimono?"  Minako pointed to a dark-haired Japanese woman, dressed in elegant kimono.  "Is that your mother?"

            Rei smiled a bit at this.  "No, it's my Grandmother when she was younger.  Grandfather doesn't talk about her very much, but he has a picture of them in his room, along with Mother's.  I think, he loved Grandmother very much when she was alive.  But she had fallen ill earlier on in life and she died when Mother was in the middle of high school.  Grandfather used to tell me that her and mother would fight all the time, but that was because their personalities were so alike."  Rei smiled at the memories.  "He says that her favorite flower was sakura*.  Funny, he used to tell me that one of the reasons he never left Tokyo was because of the sakura* trees here and the festivals that went with it.  Even to this day, he brings sakura branches from our shrine to her grave when he visits her."*

            Minako looked over to Rei worriedly when she saw the miko wearing a far away expression on her face.  "Rei Chan?"

            "Eh?"

            "Want to use the Luna pen and pretend to be me for the holidays so I don't have to go to Osaka?"  Minako asked abruptly with a hopeful gleam in her pleading blue eyes.

            Rei blinked several times in surprise at her friend, not comprehending the request since the change in subject was so unexpected.  "Baka!"  Rei gave her friend a good whack over the head in exasperation once the dark-haired miko recovered from her initial shock.

            "And who said I'd lend out the pen to just anyone?"  Usagi joined in with mock anger.

            Minako stuck her tongue out at her friends as she rubbed her poor, abused head.  "I'll use the Sailor V compact then!"  Minako grinned with an arrogant flip of her hair.

            Usagi's eyes brightened at the mention of her favorite heroine.  "Sailor V compact?"  A dreamy expression came over her face.  "Want to make a trade, Mina Chan?"  The odangoed blonde asked eagerly.  “Please, please!”

            "Nope," Minako shook her head to the great disappointment of Usagi.

            Rei turned from both of them to hide the amused smile on her lips.  Still, she could not help but give one more glance to the album sitting in her lap.  The shrine held a lot of memories.  And yet, sweet as the many days at Hikawa Jinja were, they always ended too quickly.  A lot of losses were found on the peaceful grounds as well, a lot of hopes swept away where the outside world invaded in.  "Mother…"  Rei traced the picture of a smiling, beautiful woman standing next to an equally regal looking man.  "When did the world invade the one you knew?"  Rei wondered out loud.

            "Rei Chan?"  Minako glanced over to her in surprise.

            "Eh?"  Rei blinked at the owlish eyes both blondes were presenting her with.  "It's nothing," Rei forced a smile before closing the album firmly.  "Do you know what surprise Mamoru Kun has for you, Usagi?"  After that, there was only cheerful and embarrassed laughter.  And like that of a photograph, there were many words left unsaid beneath the smiles of the captured, but fleeting moments.

 

-           -           -           -           -

 

            She yawned, waking to see that they had already arrived at their destination.  Sighing, she straightened her kimono the best she could.  Lately, she'd been having dreams of the past a lot more.  Maybe, it was a sign, but it was hard to tell the difference nowadays between memories and omens of what was to come.

            The lamp lights were the only lights shining dimly in the early morning.  The last few flakes of snow drifted to the ground as the overnight flurry passed over Tokyo like her memories had passed over her dreams.  Soon, when the sun rises, the last of the remaining snow would melt like frost and disappear just as quickly.  Perchance, one day, their experiences and memories for this period of time would melt away as well.  She wondered what may lie quivering beneath such a thin veneer of change, though.

            The car smoothly stopped by the curb and silently parked before the first steps of the temple.  A man stepped out, black suit blending into the darkness as he opened the passenger doors.  From the dark interiors, she came dressed in a deep-purple kimono.  Gracefully, she stepped out and peered up the hundred steps to the looming red torii through the sunglasses adorning her eyes even at such a time in the day.  The gates to the temple stood tall and strong in the grayness of the morning.  At the look of the clouded sky, she checked her wrist watch and noted the time to be almost seven in the morning.  No doubt her friend and hostess would still be sleeping at such an hour.  After all, in all the years she had known Aino Minako, the blonde had yet to get in the habit of rising before the sun.

            "I'll call if I need anything," she said with an eerie smile.  Without a glance over her shoulder to ensure that the man understood, she began her journey up the one-hundred steps.

            Her purse hit the side of her leg in a rhythmic beating, while in her arms was a thin, flat silver case the size of a large folder – though not half as thick.  She wondered how surprised Aino Minako would be to see her at such a time and during such an hour, her smile widening in amusement.  Overhead, two crows cawed at the sight of her in greeting before descending upon her approaching form.  "Phobos San, Deimos San," the woman greeted in return.  "How have you two been?  It has been a long time since I've been here, hm?"

            The crows ascended then, cawing replies into the brightening day.  Wings flapped, leaving behind black feathers as cheerful chatter could be overheard breaking the silence of the night ending.  For a moment, just a moment, the skies seemed red with the remembrance of a time lost as she turned and glanced over the cityscape revealed to her eyes, under the tall red torii.  She blinked and the vision was replaced by the sleepy city of Tokyo, only beginning to awaken to the day.  No, visions were long in the past and she had not been granted one for sometime now, not since that time.

            Turning her back to the scene, she promptly forgot the temporary and fleeting sight that she had caught a glimpse of but moments ago.  It was easier to forget such things that could not be changed.  Memories, in the end, would only hurt her if she wasn't careful.  All those years ago, it no longer mattered anymore.  Not that time, not when she had once felt so much and yet knew so little.  Back when she had been secure in her knowing nothing but thinking she knew everything because of who she had been.

            That time, when she could not smile genuinely from the bottom of her heart.  Such a time was not worth remembering.

 

-           -           -           -           -

 

            Kumada Akina yawned for the third time during breakfast.  "I can't believe we had to get up this early!"  Akina groaned as she leaned back in her chair and tried to doze.  The night before she had had a hard time sleeping, pondering over the things that Aino Minako had only hinted about in her telling of the ghosts of Tokyo.  The events of the day kept playing itself out in Akina’s mind, and the meeting with the ghost on the Tokyo streets disturbed Akina more than she had been willing to show.  Akina was now, more than ever, curious of the woman Hino Rei, who Minako said so little about.  It would be a lie to say that Akina wasn’t also curious about where or why the ghosts roamed throughout the city of Tokyo, though every instinct she had gained in the last few years of her life told her to pack up and go back to the safe and secure Kobe she knew and loved, and never look back…

            For such a talkative hostess, Aino Minako sure was tightlipped when it came to her friends, and vague about everything else concerning them.  The trait was admirable, Akina acknowledged that, but at the same time it was equally frustrating as well.  Their blonde hostess gave such an interesting and unbelievable tale that it was difficult to believe, but Akina recognized that there were truth indeed in the urban legends that circulated about Tokyo, things no rational mind would accept without evidence.

            "By the way you were whining last night, I'd have thought you'd be the first to go to bed," Hiroshi spoke calmly in reply, breaking through Akina's thoughts.

            "What?" Akina demanded now that she was wide awake.

            Nami sighed deeply in disappointment.  "Give it a break, you too.  Peace and quiet in these early hours is all I ask for."

            "Oh!"  Akina fumed as she crossed her arms over her chest.  "Can't you ever interrupt after I've had the last word?"  She demanded.

            Nami sighed again, this time in defeat, but wisely chose to say nothing at all to her sibling's provocations.  "I'm at least glad that Mother isn't here to hear your morning dilemmas as well," Hiroshi continued on when he saw the cool disinterest on their eldest sister's face.

            "Baka!" Akina thumped him on the head.  "Stop trying to look cool when you're spouting such stupid things."

            "What the hell's wrong with you?"  Hiroshi demanded, rising angrily and towering over his older sister.  Rubbing his head, he glared at her through dark lashes.  "Can't you see we're in public?"

            "Then stop acting like such a fool!  If you act like that then I can act like however I want to as well!"  Akina poked his chest with her finger.  "I'm your older sister, so you should start acting in your place, Little Brother dear."  In no time they were growling at each other again.

            Nami cheerfully announced that she had to go see how Mother was doing before hurriedly exiting out of the chaos that her siblings created whenever and wherever they went together.  If it weren't for these trips that made the two stay in such close proximity, another world war might have been avoided, Nami thought to herself ruefully.  "Mother?" Nami knocked gently on her mother's door.  "Breakfast has been going on for sometime now," she spoke through the door.

            Iku opened the door with a laugh and a smile on her lips.  "Those two," she sighed.

            Nami looked at her mother with a collected expression as she reached over and touched her mother's cheek.  "You've been crying again?"

            "Eh?"  Iku sucked in her breath too quickly.  "Mm," she admitted in defeat when the expression on her eldest daughter's face did not change.  "This city is one of many memories.  Perhaps, it is why the ghosts are drawn to such a place.  Many people's dreams are tied to this place, as were many lives that were tied to these dreams.  Somehow, one way or another, it started somewhere like Tokyo.  For your father and myself, it was Tokyo where our most important dreams, those closest to our hearts, began."

            "One day," Nami said as she drew close and hugged her mother, "will you tell me such a dream of the past?"

            Iku patted her daughter's arm.  "Maybe, but you have your own dreams to live for now."  Nami said nothing as she followed her mother into the hotel room and Iku sat by the window looking out.  "The view is very nice, don't you think, Nami Chan?  I can see the ocean from here, and sometimes, I think I can smell it again.  The fish market, the polluted waters, the salt in the air and the rotting piers."  Iku closed her eyes.  "It is not a very pleasant smell, but one from the past.  Good or bad, it makes me so very nostalgic."

            Nami sat down on the bed and glanced at the wall before her with a thoughtful expression.  "Mother," she said clearly without looking at Iku, "that woman, Hino Rei San, that you had hoped to introduce to us, she's not there anymore.  What do you propose we do now?"  Iku was quiet for a long time after the question was asked.  So, Nami turned to her mother with a questioning glance.  “Mother?”

            "Hino Rei San was the first and last woman your father ever loved," Iku said softly.  "She was very beautiful, very graceful, and very kind.  When I first met with Hino Rei San, I was resentful of her presence in Yuuichiro's life.  But, she did not let that bother her.  Immediately, I had declared my dislike to her and that I wasn't going to let her steal Yuuichiro away.  I said many nasty things to her, things that were unkind and judgmental, all because I was jealous of everything she had, of everything she seemed to have obtained without trials or tears."  Nami watched her mother with a hint of pain and awe on her face, feeling as if for the first time she was beginning to understand her mother as not just Mother, but as a woman.  "Hino Rei San had quite the temper though, so I guess, I can understand Aino San's fear of her wrath.  I've not seen much of Hino Rei San's anger, but Yuuichiro used to tell me stories about her temper.  He had such a look to him too on those occasions, one between laughter and awe, and he kept that mixture of feelings for her, along with his love."

            Nami watched her mother carefully, but the other didn't continue.  "I think, Father loved you too, Mother."  Nami finally spoke as clearly and as calmly as she always did.  "It may have been different from the one he had for this woman of both your pasts, but it was love nonetheless."

            Iku smiled a bit at this as she slid her hand away from the window and walked over to her daughter.  She sat down next to her daughter and caught Nami's hand in her own.  "Nami Chan, if you don't want to marry Kiyoshi Kun, I would understand.  I don't really understand why your father pushed for this match.  If you truly don't love him or he does not return the sentiment, I would not hold you to the engagement."

            Nami tightened her hand on her mother's, her eyes becoming very distant.  "Do I really appear so cold, Mother?"

            Confused by the question, Iku shook her head.  "Nami Chan is a very kind and warm-hearted child."  Iku smiled at her daughter.  "To this day, she still is."

            Nami looked down at her linked hands with her mother's.  "Then, I would love for Mother to approve of the match Father made before his death."  Iku sucked in a shocked breath, unsure what to say.  "I also love Kiyoshi San very much.  Though our match may not be one mandated by the heavens, my heart is very content to be with him, always."  Nami smiled a small, secret smile of her own.

            Iku watched her daughter's face with resignation, noting that there was a resolution in Nami's expression that was against change.  Sighing, she set a gentle hand on Nami's back and smiled.  I must have looked like that as well when my mother asked me about Yuuichiro, Iku recalled.  It must be in the blood of Haruko's daughters to love impossible men, Iku reasoned as she smoothed Nami's hair and straightened.  "You came to get me for breakfast, right?"  Nami looked a bit startled but nodded in reply.  "Then, let us hurry down there before Akina Chan and Hiroshi Chan disturb the peace anymore, or kill each other."  Chuckling softly, mother and daughter exited Iku's room in welcomed companionship.

 

-           -           -           -           -

 

            Akina puffed her cheeks at the cool air of winter.  "Freezing!"  She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself.  Hiroshi contentedly patted his stomach and chose, for once, not to say anything to provoke his older sister.

            Iku smiled at her children as she walked down the side-walk.  The black suit she wore made her look exceptionally younger, especially since after dinner Akina convinced their mother to let her hair down for once.  Surprising still was that Iku complied.  "Jupiter sure was an amazing restaurant," Nami sighed to herself.  "When I was eating, I felt as if the food was really profuse with feeling!"

            "Now I know what people meant when they say 'cooking from the heart,'" Akina joined in excitedly.  "The food was amazing!  Even at this time of day, I was amazed to see how many people were there, lined up to go in.  Hiroshi Kun, I must thank you for thinking ahead and booking a seat for us last month!  After eating the food though, I'd gladly stand and wait for another try, though I’d doubt we’d have really been able to get in if we haven’t booked ahead!"

            Hiroshi grinned at Akina, and in one rare moment, the two gave each other affectionate glances.  Nami smiled herself, amazed a bit that food could do such a thing for the two that professional therapy most likely wouldn't have been able to.  "I have to say, after tasting that, I'm not sure I can ever eat anything else with admiration again though," Hiroshi agreed as he flicked the tooth pick he'd been chewing on into a nearby garbage bin.  "Still, pretty amazing that a lot of the earnings Jupiter gets goes towards researching for mechanical body parts."

            Nami giggled a bit at this.  "Only Hiroshi Kun would look up such things when trying to find a good restaurant."

            Akina and Hiroshi were both surprised by this but they smiled nonetheless.  "Yeah, it is pretty amazing," Hiroshi agreed.  "Good food and the money earned from it actually going to a good place, the restaurant's pretty amazing in every aspect.  Makes one wonder about the owner, doesn't it?"  Akina and Nami both nodded, as Iku listened with slight interest.  "I heard he's a pretty interesting man, but no one's got any information on the original owner."

            Akina perked up at this.  "An old, mysterious gentleman for the owner of such a prominent restaurant?  Truly fitting, don't you think?"

            "A lot of rumors fly around about him," Nami nodded thoughtfully.  "Kiyoshi San was telling me about it a while back.  He said it would be so wonderful to meet the enigmatic owner of Jupiter, having balanced success, charity, and humbleness into one so well.  I wondered along with him then, what this man must be like."  They all pondered on that for a moment before cheerfully giving up on the futile thought.

            "Thank you, Mother, for letting us have that bit of a shopping spree."  Akina bowed to Iku after they walked some blocks down.

            Iku glanced back with another happy smile and fairly glowed.  "It was my pleasure!"

            "Let's go to the Hikawa Jinja then."  Akina clapped her hands together.  "I think I'm up to meeting with Aino Minako San again.  Last time, I really was rude to her."

            Nami nodded, truly amazed at what Jupiter's food had done to everyone.  She herself was feeling a lot more light-hearted and happier, even.  It was as if, something magical had happened while she ate and the joy that sprung from it wrapped around her whole body, making everything more tolerable and clearer than before.  Truly food from another world, Nami thought ruefully to herself.  "Kiyoshi San and I have been talking about children," Nami suddenly said.  Her tongue and the rest of her body felt as if she had gotten drunk on some very fine wine.

            "Children?" Akina perked up with a sparkle in her eyes.

            "Nieces and nephews?" Hiroshi joined in excitedly.

            "Grandchildren?" Iku sighed dreamily.

            Laughing, Nami nodded with a blush of happiness and embarrassment staining her cheeks that resulted from more than the cold.  "We kept arguing between three and four.  He kept saying even was a good amount better than odd, and I kept saying that I wouldn't mind having a family like our own."

            Iku's expression lit up, while Akina and Hiroshi, for just a moment, looked as if they were about to hug her and than embrace each other.  However, the moment quickly passed and everyone laughed a little over it.  "I didn't realize Kiyoshi Kun was so adamant about even-numbered children."  Akina teased.

            "Nor did I dream that Older Sister Nami Chan would want to brave the footsteps of our wars while going so valiantly against the greatly persuasive Kiyoshi Kun!"  Hiroshi joined in.

            "You two," Nami waved her hand at them in mock annoyance, "I really shouldn't have said anything to my own loosed tongued siblings!"

            "Hey!" both protested.

            Laughing, Iku shook her head at their banter that were no longer filled with the malice of the past.  She was really glad, Iku thought, that the family could be like this.  Up until now, she had forgotten times when her children playfully teased each other without hurt or anger in their tones.  For that, she was grateful for having allowed Hiroshi to sway them into going to the best restaurant in town.

            "Ah!  The bus is here!"  Hiroshi grinned waving a little.

            Akina shuddered and looked slightly defeat.  "Gah!  It’s the perverts again!"  And without much prompting laughter rang through the crisp, winter air in joyous symphony.

            The walk up the hundred steps left them all panting a bit.  "No wonder Aino Minako San's in such good shape," Nami gasped.  "If I had to climb that every day, I think any fat I gathered from eating and lazing around would be gone!"

            "It's so exclusive, up here," Iku agreed as she sat down tiredly by the last step, not minding her suit.  "The view is very lovely."

            Hiroshi let out a whoosh of air as he leaned against a red torii pole.  "Somehow, if I squint a bit, I can almost believe that it's Kobe, here."  He sighed with the remembrance of home.  "Hikaru Chan called me last night and told me she's graduating earlier than expected," he said out of the blue.

            "Hikaru Chan?"  Akina asked surprised.  "I thought the last time we talked about her, she was still just getting into her junior year.  How'd everything change so quickly?"

            "Switched her majors," Hiroshi explained.  "I was quite surprised myself, but she said it's what she wanted."

            "Strange."  Akina shrugged a bit.  "Most people change majors and have to stay longer.  I wonder what's gotten into her.  Hikaru Chan, to me, always had seemed to be so ambitious."

            "She's been somewhat depressed lately," Hiroshi agreed, "No matter what I do, she doesn't seem to be able to get out of her funk."

            "Hm?" Nami scratched her head.  "You sure you didn't say something to her?  It could very well be something careless and thoughtless?  Sometimes, I find that my brother doesn't deal with women particularly well."

            "Hey!"  Hiroshi protested.  "I'm right here!  I can hear your insults."

            "Not an insult," Nami giggled a bit as she waved away her brother's annoyance, "Just an observation."

            "No, I'm sure it has something to do with her family.  Hikaru Chan has gotten quiet every time I bring up her mom and dad.  I guess, some way, somehow, she'd rather deal with it her own way before she tells me about it.  Nowadays, I find myself lingering on such thoughts more and more though."  Hiroshi sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, messing up his tresses as he did so.  "Everything stopped being so simple when we grew up.  Still, I guess, no one can go backwards no matter how much we may want to."

            Iku smiled as she patted the seat next to her and Akina plopped down next to her mother.  "Age is not determined by the passage of years, but by experiences gained and the growth in a person.  If things were simple for you, Hiroshi Chan, why continue to struggle each day to live?  Where would the satisfaction of success and the sadness over failures be?  All people have hopes and dreams.  Each of us remembers the best and worst of times.  Still, if we do not struggle for what we desire, if we only got what we asked for in life, never learning of other possibilities... where would the living of it go?"  Iku smiled a bit strangely as the words left her lips, her gaze only for the expanse of sky before them.  "Struggling to reach even a destination that is unreachable is better than standing still.  That is what your father taught me.  Your father loved a very beautiful, graceful, and independent woman who did not return his sentiments, at least, not the ones he were looking for.  But I'm glad, because of that, he came to me and gave me my wonderful children, the memories of the years we've shared, and at least, a small piece of himself that shall live within me to the last of my days.  After all the years we had spent together in pain and joy, I think we were able to learn a lot, together..."

            Akina stared at her mother for a long time.  Did Mother know then?  She wondered.  Did she know about Father's philandering ways?  Did Mother find out about the pictures in the drawers and the old love-letters in the shoe-boxes?  The crows squawked as they fluttered in the afternoon sky, grey but clear of snow or freezing rain.  Akina blinked, a heavy sadness settling inside her, replacing the anger she had known for the past year, before and after her father's death.  There were so many things she wanted to ask, things that she had wanted to say, but she didn't know where to start or where such a conversation would go.  "I wonder where the sun is on such a day," Akina wondered out loud instead, turning her attention away from the million doubts inside her head.  Her voice was softer than usual, tempered by her unvoiced emotions.

            "Taking a vacation, I guess," Hiroshi joked while his smile remained clear and true.  It was a feeling, an expression, made for memories of happy times on a most absurd journey in all their lives.  And yet, Akina found herself unable to join the rest of her family, filled, as she was, with the burdens of the unspoken past.

 

-           -           -           -           -

 

            Her fingers slid against the silver ring resting just beneath her collar-bone.  The sunlight played against her dark hair as she looked down over Kobe from her place on the roof.  "Mars San," Hidekai Kyoko called out with a playful smile on her face as she clasped her hands behind her back.  Mars Reiko turned to her agent with a raised brow of amusement.  "Are you reminiscing again?  I was really surprised you wanted to be in Kobe at such a time.  You know the only reason I allowed you to come is because it's not so far from Tokyo by jet, though I really think you're wasting money flying that thing.  Still, you really must be preparing for the tour," Kyoko admonished Reiko.  The agent waved her index finger at the dark-haired singer threateningly, though not lacking the earlier air of playfulness that Hidekai Kyoko always had about her.

            "Don't you have family here, Kyoko San?"  Reiko asked, raising a brow at her agent.

            Kyoko blinked in surprise.  "Why, yes.  I didn't realize you knew that, Mars San."

            Reiko smiled at this.  "Did you have a chance to visit them?"  Reiko inquired with a light expression in her eyes.  Hidekai Kyoko reminded her of her old friends a lot; perhaps that was why Reiko stuck with the rising star of an agent in the business of entertainment.  Kyoko was also extremely skilled, if not a bit of a workaholic.

            That makes two of us! Reiko thought ruefully to herself.

            "No time, no time," Kyoko said, waving her hand with a grin.  Reiko looked annoyed at this reply but Kyoko plowed on without notice or care.  "Anyway, I thought why don't we use this time to promote for your new CD?  So, I booked us a signing at the most urbane place I could find."

            Reiko sighed in exasperation.  "I refuse to go with your mad schemes a second time, Kyoko San.  The last time you used the word “urbane” and "place" together, I ended up in a fishing port, and frankly that is not my idea of urbane in any sense of the word."

            Kyoko folded her arms across her chest stubbornly.  "I'll have you know we got great reviews for that boat show.  It may not be what they expect from the rich and famous Mars Reiko San, but now you've definitely earned your keep with the people.

            "Don't forget the fishes," Reiko sighed in defeat when she saw the argument wasn't going anywhere.

            Kyoko giggled behind her hand, knowing she won this one.  "I promise I won't forget the fishes next time you bring this up, Mars San!"

            "How many times have I asked you to call me Reiko instead?" the dark-haired singer inquired.

            "Many times, Mars San," Kyoko answered dutifully.  "But, you know what they say?  A fish is most at home in the ocean."

            Reiko wondered if that was even such a saying, but refrained from commenting on Kyoko's innocent mock.  Her agent's personality really reminded Reiko of Aino Minako on days like this, but somehow the idea was a bit scary.  The world handling one Aino Minako was bad enough, to have two was asking a bit much of it.  "If I do this next promotional scheme of yours without complaint before we jet over to Tokyo, will you promise me that you'll go visit your family and relax a little as well?"  Reiko asked with all the sincerity and concern she had been experiencing since Kyoko had started to really throw herself into being her agent more than usual, about half a year ago.  It was great for Reiko, but lately, the singer had a feeling that Kyoko was not only doing this out of her determination for Reiko to be number one these days.  Reiko's hair-dresser had commented on how he no longer saw Kyoko's old boyfriend hanging around anymore, and once Reiko had seen her agent crying after a show.  She really would rather not see Kyoko burn out because of a broken relationship and Reiko was going to force the other to take a few days break at least, no matter what the cost.

            Kyoko looked perplexed for the first time in days at this request.  Reiko remembered being a priestess when she wasn't blind, when her senses would tell her of the wrongs that were bothering a person's heart.  Nowadays, it was all guess and go, but unlike the Hino Rei of long ago, Reiko had years of experience with people now.  Without her inner eyes to guide her while calling herself Mars Reiko and going down a path she would never have wanted had forced the Hino Rei of old to really see people for the first time.  Kyoko smiled and nodded, but Reiko had a feeling that the other wasn't going to pull through on her side of the bargain if Kyoko could slip out of it.

            "I'd love to meet them, too!"  Reiko exclaimed as if the idea had just gotten itself into her head.  She grasped her agent's shoulders to show she was serious.  "No tricks, Kyoko San," Reiko warned her agent menacingly, "or I'll make sure I'm late for my premier in Tokyo."

            Kyoko tried her best not to look crestfallen and nodded reluctantly.  "You're no fun, Reiko San!"

            Reiko smiled at this, feeling as if the past had caught up with her in the tiny, short-haired agent.  "Too late for bribes now, Kyoko San."  The dark-haired singer tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled a little into the distant skyline.  The wind blew at her bangs and pulled at her loose strands of hair, ruffling Reiko's clothes as well in the evening.  But the singer didn't mind it at the least nor did she notice the chill as Kyoko shivered from her spot close by.

            Kyoko blew at her own bangs in exasperation.  "Mou," the agent grumped and stewed silently in rebellion, trying to find a loop hole.

            Mars Reiko ignored the other and closed her eyes to the bright daylight before her, remembering a time when she had felt so old but was so young.  A time when she had loved someone with an unwilling heart and told a secret that she had no right giving away.  Kumada Yuuichiro really couldn't understand the implications of her inability to age.  No, he didn't, not until he had to leave her behind with a ghost to fulfill his own duties as a son.  It had taken him two years to tie up all the loose ends with his parents and Reiko had been so ashamed of herself for depending on his calls and hearing his familiar voice on the other side of that receiver.

            But she had loved him in her own way.  There was no use denying it now, now that he was gone.

            Reiko had never wanted to say "I love you" in person or over the phone; she was not that type of girl who believed in such petty words, not even when she had been at that stage just before woman-hood.  Still, Yuuichiro and she were such innocents then.  He didn't understand until returning to her, seeing her face that did not age or change, and realizing she was the same as the Tokyo he had left behind in his leave for the real world, trapped and unmoving while he moved on.  Kumada Yuuichiro was a strange anomaly in Tokyo then, but he had been sent out of the city that week by the news of his own father's unfortunate death.  In a way, it was the beginning of the end of their relationship, the beginning of the end for both of them.

            Reiko gently touched the ring near her throat, the one he had proposed to her with even though there had been uncertainty in his eyes and rebellion against his father's last wishes in his heart.  But in her own heart, Reiko knew that Yuuichiro did not understand the promises of such a ring, and at that time, neither did she.  In the end there was no future for people like her and him; not for people like her who could not move forward because of circumstances, nor for those like him who must because of mortality and the responsibilities present in his life.  Such sacrifices they had made, after all these years she wondered -- even after having risen so high in the world and changed in her own way -- were such sacrifices she had chosen to make then really worth it in the end?  Did she make mistakes along the way that she had yet to discover in those choices?

            "Mars San?" Kyoko's soft voice pulled Reiko away from the edge of the balcony.

            "Yes?"  Reiko turned to her agent.  Kyoko apparently had not left her side in her broodings.  The singer felt slightly embarrassed at having been caught so deeply in her memories that she had not noted the other's presence for quite some time.

            "Such a gloomy air doesn't fit you, you know?"  Kyoko said, smiling and looking very strong.  "The mysterious image is all good, but we don't really want to attract the wrong crowds," she warned.

            Reiko twitched under her eye and suppressed the need to fist her hands in exasperation.  "Thank you," Reiko replied as calmly and as coolly as she could, "for being concerned about me."  The singer began moving for the stairs and glanced over her shoulder to see an equally pensive look come unexpectedly over Kyoko's face.  "Are you coming, Kyoko San?  Or are you going to go against your own advice?"  Reiko raised a challenging brow at the other.

            The look was gone in an instant as Kyoko brightened and swirled so fast around her heels, the agent tittered a bit for balance.  Laughing at her own clumsiness, Kyoko came running after Reiko with a grin.  "I'm getting so old, you know?" the agent joked.  "No, no, never mind, Mars San," Kyoko sighed in defeat, "you're too young to comprehend such things at such an age."  The irony Kyoko's words brought only a weak smile over Reiko's face, but the other woman had already gotten too far ahead to notice.

            "So," Kyoko gleefully put her hands together and glanced over her shoulder at Reiko with a predatory light in her eyes.  "I was thinking this time we should try for a zoo..."

 

To be continued...

 

 

            * Baka - idiot

            * Sakura - cherry tree, cherry blossom(s)

            - Japanese people do tend to visit their beloved, dead relatives on a yearly basis.  It is good religious and social form for children to visit deceased parents on their parent's death anniversaries.  If you're interested it, look up Japanese Funeral Rites or anything similar to that on Google.  I'm relating this by memory, I could be off a bit (or a lot).

            - The memory sequence in the beginning is not from the woman who stepped out of the car in the scene after the memory recall.  I just made it seem like it was, but it would have made no sense for whoever it was – I won’t say who – to dream up a memory that's not hers.  In case you're confused, I just want you to know that I know it's confusing and that’s the way I planned it (if you're not, maybe you are now).  [Author sweatdrops]

            - If people are confused when Minako said she'll use her Sailor V Compact, in the manga, Sailor V has her own compact for disguises.  It works much like the Lunar pen, except, it's like a powder case... in my opinion, it's cuter.  Usagi's especially jealous since she really adores Sailor V, Minako's old alter ego.  Hence, the sudden desire to "trade".

 

Special Thanks To:

My editor, Yumeko San!  She had to wade through my horrible grammar to help me polish this baby to perfection!  Thank you so much Yumeko San!  I would be so lost without you!  [Dabs away tears of gratitude]

 

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